All Saints' Eve

Title: All Saints’ Eve
Facilitator: Scott
System: LARP
Players: 8
Blurb: The town of Westenbridge is a self-contained far-suburb of Boston. It has been around for hundreds of years and has been politically controlled by the same set of families for nearly that long. Many of its citizens work in Boston but nearly all services and social life are local. The town is very conservative and snobby, and few move into it, but almost as few leave. The population is one fifth extremely rich, large families, one fifth poor people who serve them, and three fifths an upper middle class that basks in the light of the opulence of the rich.

Lately, Westenbridge is not a safe or happy place. The schools are flooded with expensive drugs; the police smile and take a cut. Domestic violence and child abuse are far more prevalent here than nationwide. Violent crimes of passion are common, crimes of need relatively unknown. People do not trust their neighbours; neighbours of­ten mean harm to them or their families. One locks one’s doors always and does not go walking at night except in groups. Many get caught for their crimes. All give their own personal, and unconnected, reasons for committing their crimes. They say there is simply something in the air.

One of the many unsolved crimes in Westenbridge is the kidnapping and pre­sumed murder of Tanya Carter, the youngest child of the important Carter family, six months ago. She disappeared from her bedroom overnight and there was no further sign of her. Three weeks later, after the police had given up hope of finding her alive, they held a funeral, which all of the important people attended. The police investigation continues, but has found no major leads.

A highlight of the year in Westenbridge is the Westen family Halloween party. The Westens are the most important family in town by far, giving the town three quarters of its mayors, not just its name. This year, the eldest son of the mayor died several weeks before the celebration, and it was considered inappropriate for the Westens to host the event. It fell to the Cunninghams, perhaps the second most important family in town, to have the party.

The Cunningham house is the largest in town—the Westens have too much taste—and has dozens of rooms across four floors. The Cunninghams are known for leaving their doors wide open to all the town’s aristocrats and their children. People with the most tangential relationships to the Cunninghams’ come and go and con­gregate in the house often without the Cunninghams’ specific knowledge. Rarely do people dare steal from them.

Written by Shifting Forest Storyworks

Classification: R18
Scare: 3.5
Suspense: 5
Splatter: 5
Strange: 3.5